Camel Safari Tips

From My Recent Journey In India
Jaisalmer, January, 2007
When you talk about Camel Safaris in India, you're talking about Jaisalmer.
It's a quiet place compared to Jaipur but what I really notice is the underlying tension here. We are very close to the Pakistan border and the police are always on the lookout for terrorists who want to slip over the border to India. I learned here that you don't fool around when you fill in those boring three pages of forms to sign in at a hotel. The manager told me they can be fined five hundred rupees if the forms are filled in wrong.

Our safari costs $45 each per day, each plus another $15 for beer and chicken. The beer is ice cold when it was packed but after a day in the hot desert it's pretty warm. Also you should consider the fact that it is shaken all day as it rides on the camel. So the only time it really is good to drink is in the morning when it has had a chance to cool down and stay still. Unfortunately, I'm just not a drink -beer-in-the-morning kind of guy. The other thing is the chicken. I just never thought of how chicken could be kept fresh while we travel. Nourah offered to let me wring it's neck. I know it's hypocritical to pretend chicken doesn't die for my plate, but I like to try. I feel like a murderer when (Harvey) [never name the food] is killed for our dinner. Some say that one overnight is enough but I love having 2 nights under the stars. I recommend the three day trek. You also go further into the desert that way. It is all set up in a loop. Nourah offers to show us the villages but we usually say no. Most of them are just tourist traps so that they can beg for your money and sell you trinkets. We prefer to just see nature and enjoy the peace and quiet. Another thing to check on is the number of people on a trek. We really lucked out because it is only Aw and me. Make sure you get your own camel. Don't let them put two on a camel. I also talked to some people who said they had a camel driver who spoke no English. It's great when Nourah is able to tell us about the desert. One more thing. We're here in January. By April, the desert is too hot for travel. But you know what? You can take all the precautions you like. You can still end up on a Trek you didn't agree to. This is India. Sometimes it's a great experience, like ours is. Sometimes it's not.

Desert Goats And Children

From My Recent Journey In India
Jaisalmer, January, 2007

As we pass through a desert village these children lead us in. They are proud of their small community and they want to share it with us. There are very few building materials out here so the corrals are built from rocks, with a dried up branch and some straw for shade and protection from the rain (if it ever comes).As we come closer, the goats come to us to see who their visitors are.Aw creeps up to a goat to see if she can make friends. This is just like having our own private petting Zoo.We have been traveling for three days. We have seen very few people or creatures of any kind so this is really fun for us."Na la Kaw", as Aw would say; 'So cute".

Yohoo Camel!

From My Recent Journey In India
Jaisalmer, January, 2007
We Arrive at Nourah's village on the last day. He asks if I had a good time. Yes, I sure did Nourah, but there is one thing I never had a chance to do. Just once, I would like to see how fast a camel can run. He gives me a sideways look as if to say: 'you asked for it." He puts me on my camel 'Journey' and he gets on behind me. We head to an oval track on his property and away we go.

Nourah; Camel Driver

From My Recent Journey In India

Jaisalmer, January, 2007

This is our third and last day on the Safari. We arrive in a small settlement made up of a few brick buildings and goat corrals.
Nourah did a great job of guiding us through the desert. Here he is with his (my) camel 'Journey'. Many people think of camels as being unpredictable and snappy, but Nourah says that most are very docile and friendly because they are used to being around people.

Nourah wants to buy his own camels and do his own Safaris. We are thinking of investing in a camel with him. Camels cost about $300 to buy. At the end of the journey we arrived at Nourah's village in the desert. The only people who live here are his own family and brothers and a couple of aunts and uncles; about fifteen people in all. That's his wife in the green and his brother next to her. You would never know Nourah and his wife were married from looking at them in public. Indian culture does not allow public shows of affection. Muslim couples are even more strict that way. I found his family to be very polite and respectful.

Desert Life

From My Recent Journey In India
Jaisalmer, India, January, 2007
We settle into desert life very easily. It's quiet out here and very peaceful. Every so often I turn around and snap a photo of Aw on her camel. We each carry one bag of personal stuff on the camel's saddle horn.We come across a lot of these large green bushes as we travel. These are all that break up the landscape for most of our journey.Our camels only eat once a day. Nourah spreads out some grain on a blanket for each of our pals. We carry the feed with us.Nourah makes us dinner from scratch. He brings rice and vegetables and the ingredients for chapattis. There's nothing better than the smell of a meal cooking in the quiet of the evening just before the sun goes down.We sit on our camp blankets and watch the sun set through the bush. For me, the Safari is all about this kind of moment. To truly enjoy the experience, we slow ourselves into the moment and enjoy what is, right now.

Desert Watering Hole

From My Recent Journey In India
Jaisalmer, January, 2007
Life in the desert is very simple. We come to this oasis and Nourah, our camel driver takes us the sandy banks of this lake, to give our camels a good drink. Aw's beast has her head deep in the water as soon as we arrive They suck up the water like vacuum cleaners. A camel can go up to three days before needing water again. And just in case you're wondering where they store the water; it's not in their hump.
We come upon this father and son filling up their water storage tank. People here are very friendly and open to strangers. The little boy calls to us and I reply 'salaam alekum'. In India you can be sure that the greeting is almost always: 'namaste' or 'salaam alekum' depending if you are in a Muslim or Hindu area. Either way, I enjoy this kind of meeting the best.

Aw's Desert Travel

From My Recent Journey In India
Jaisalmer, January, 2007

Nourah loads up up camels as we head out for another day exploring this wondrous country. He walks ahead of us leading the camels and guiding us along the route effortlessly.Now I can carry out my secret plan. I know that it's just a matter of time before I wear Aw down. I'll show her who has the real endurance in the desert.Look at that desperate look in her face. I mean, let's get serious. She's just a tiny Thai woman. She is no match for a big strong (Yai jing jing krup) man from Canada. She can't possibly be having a good time on that Camel, hour after hour, trudging along the hot desert. Sure, she has that smile on her face and yes, I hear her laughing as if she's having a good time out here. But she's not fooling anyone. And tell that camel to get that smirk off his face!

MBT Desert Trial

From My Recent Journey In India
Jaisalmer, January, 2007
They say 'never judge a man til you walk a mile in his sandals. Nourah walks the whole journey through the desert. He leads the two camels like this for the three days, walking in his old black shoes. After the first day, he shows me one of his shoes. The sole is split open and it has thorns in it. Fortunately I have a second pair of sandals so I give him my best pair to wear for the duration of our trip. The irony is that these are very special sandals. I got them through my friend Vivyan in Toronto Canada. They are MBTs.These shoes were designed by studying the Masai tribe in the African desert. The shoes are bow shaped so that the we must unconsciously adjust our posture to walk straight. It is a total body work out but after a short time it causes you to walk in a healthier way. So here we are in the desert of India and our guide is wearing the exact footwear that was designed by people in his exact situation. They costs about three hundred dollars a pair; the same price as a camel. Nourah loves wearing them and asks if he can keep them, but I have to say no. I do give him my other pair though. It's nice to have been able to give him the gift of comfort for the three day Safari.

Camel Safari: Desert Children

From My Recent Journey In India
Jaisalmer, January, 2007

We wake up to the smell of Chai boiling on a cooking fire nearby. What a great way to start the morning. It' cool and clear in the desert and we are very relaxed. It just happened that Aw and I are the only ones on this Safari. We were told there would be eight or ten other travelers with us, but we don't mind at all. It's as if we have the whole desert to ourselves. After a delicious breakfast of jam and toast, we pack up as our driver loads everything back onto the camels, and off we go.This village family comes out to meet us as we travel. We walk around and see goats in corrals and some chickens wandering loose. The woman on the right was making butter by hand as we approach. Our camel driver, Nourah, says these villagers welcome us and although they hope we will give them a bit of money, they are happy just to see us. There are only three of four families living here. The huts are clay with thatched roofs. Such a simple life here in the desert.

Would You Like Chicken With That?

From My Recent Journey In India
Jaisalmer, January, 2007

Our Camel Safari takes us for many kilometers into the Rajasthan dessert. The loping speed is very relaxing and peaceful. We stop after 3 or 4 hours to let the camels rest and to have a meal. Our camel driver; Nourah, lays down some quilts so we can have a short siesta while he gets out the supplies for our afternoon meal. He makes the japatti himself and all the ingredients are fresh. I could be a vegetarian very easily. This food is wonderful. It's just vegetables and rice and some spices.Tonight we have a delicious meal of noodles, japatti and chicken. Nourah sets everything out around him on the ground and puts our whole meal together while sitting in this one position. I only have one regret about my choices of food for this Safari.
When they asked me if I wanted chicken on this Safari I had no idea they meant...

Desert Paradise

From My Recent Journey In India
Jaisalmer, January, 2007

WE ride from about 10am until around 6pm. I am in a panic inside for the first few hours of the Safari. I honestly don't know if I can endure the ride. I have always considered myself a very strong person but my legs are working way too hard with every step the camel takes, just to maintain my balance. We stop for a nice lunch under some shade trees and when we get back on the camels, suddenly it's all different. My brain seems to adjust to the journey and now at the end of the day it's no problem at all. I know I can ride indefinitely. It's all so easy to do now. Sigh

Nourah, our camel driver, brings us here to this sand dune for our first night in the desert. The whole trip is worth it just to be here. This dune is like something from a movie. We were warned that much of our trek will be in scrub, but this is wonderful.I take Aw to the top of a dune just as the sun is setting. The Sun sets very fast in this part of the world. Where we are here is very close to the Pakistan border. I thought that a Camel Safari would be all about the wonderful sights we would see; and it is, in a way. But the best part is just the peace and quiet as we ride along in this mystical land. Nourah is quiet by nature and the three of us have no trouble just looking around and enjoying the Peace and quiet. I love waking up in the cool morning and smelling the smoke from the fire as Nourah makes our morning chai and a simple breakfast. At night, we lay blankets out in the sand and sleep under the stars. I sleep on my back and I wake up every few hours and look up at a new configuration of stars over head. Canada has wonderful night skies but I have never seen anything like this. There are no lights to detract from this heavenly view. It's magnificent out here.

How To Ride A Camel

From My Recent Journey In India
Jaisalmer, January, 2007

Hello from the Desert Safari near the Pakistan border. It's very exciting to be here in a place so important to the world right now. If we stray a bit Northwest, we could find ourselves in the middle of a Pakistani military base. Many generations of people have lived here and died here; from drought and hunger and politics. This is ancient Rajasthan; the way it has looked for thousands of years.We met some young students traveling from Israel, the night before our Safari. One woman was very beautiful and very fit. She said she was done-in after the first couple of hours on the camel and had to be taken back after the first day. She said it was just too hard to ride the camel. So we are concerned because we are signed up for three days of riding (and the money is not refundable). For the first four hours I find it very difficult. The camel jostles me left and right and up and down with each step and I find my body fighting every move. I look over at Aw and she is just smiling and ambling along as if she's done this all her life. (Those darn Thais! Who do they think they are anyway! And a girl Thai at that!!!). "How it go Stevie" she enquires. "Dee mark krup sweetie. Great. I'm loving it." After four hours I'm already thinking up plausible excuses to get out of this nightmare. But then something magical seems to happen. My body adjusts and it's suddenly very easy to ride.

Jaisalmer Camel Safari Begins

From My Recent Journey In India
Jaisalmer, January, 2007

We wake up bright and early and head to the outer gate of Jaisalmer Fort to begin our adventure. I'm not sure if I'm more excited to be going on this trek or if I'm just thrilled to be warm for a change. Did I mention that we have been freezing to death in India since we arrived?

This man beside me is our Jeep driver. He's taking us to the starting point of our Safari. You pay extra to get this ride, but it means you start in the real desert instead of spending your first four hours just getting out of town on your camel. My Camel's name is 'Journey' so I feel right at home with him as my traveling partner. The name: just a coincidence? I think not... Camels are the strangest looking creatures. I can't believe how small Aw looks on that beast. i call her Mighty Mouse because she doesn't shy away from anything. The driver says to get on and she gets on. Not bad for a woman who likes to dress in designer clothes and has a manicure every two weeks. If I this Safari doesn't kill her off, nothing will...

How To Find A Camel Driver

From My Recent Journey In India
Jaisalmer, January, 2007
The reason people come to Jaisalmer is for the Camel Safaris. This is the route we signed up for. It cost us 650 rupees per day plus another 100 rupees each to have beer and chicken with our meals. I'll have some tips for you when we finish the safari. You have to always be thinking of the next part of your journey in India. You can't just hop on a train or bus. You have to decide a few days ahead where you are going next and buy the tickets. I have a view from here that looks over the town from this restaurant in the Fort. I might look impressive to Aw as I pore over these documents but if she know what my family knows; that I have virtually no sense of direction and have only got this far in India by dumb luck, she would be panic. But I'm the MAN. I am supposed to know my way around. Here's a desert riddle for you. 'Why did it take Moses 40 years to bring the chosen people to the Promised Land? Answer: Because even in those days, a man was afraid to ask for directions.'